Background: Eculizumab, an anti-C5 antibody, was approved for the treatment of patients (pts) with symptomatic paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) in 2007 and has been the standard of care for over a decade. However, published data on real-world outcomes of eculizumab-treated pts with PNH are limited. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical profile of pts with PNH treated with eculizumab by characterizing their short- and long-term laboratory and clinical outcomes. Methods: This retrospective study (Versmold et al, Blood 2020) used preexisting medical records of eculizumab-treated pts with PNH (treatment duration ≥24 weeks [wks]) treated at the University Hospital Essen, Germany prior to April 2018. Anonymized data were collected via electronic case report forms. Laboratory data were extracted from the hospital computer system. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), hemoglobin, absolute reticulocyte count (ARC), and bilirubin profiles were assessed at baseline (12 months before treatment) and during the treatment phase (up to 13.2 years [yrs] follow-up). Breakthrough hemolysis (BTH) was defined as ≥1 new symptom or sign of intravascular hemolysis (including fatigue, hemoglobinuria, abdominal pain, dyspnea, anemia [hemoglobin <10 g/dL], major adverse vascular event [including thrombosis], dysphagia, or erectile dysfunction in the presence of elevated LDH [≥2 × the upper limit of normal (ULN)] after reduction of LDH to ≤1.5 × ULN). Extravascular hemolysis was defined as persistence of reticulocytes >100 × 10 9/L with bilirubin >1 × ULN and positive direct Coombs test or reticulocytes >100 × 10 9/L with bilirubin >1 × ULN and ≥1 positive C3c or C3d test. Complete hematologic response was zero blood transfusions with hemoglobin ≥12 g/dL and LDH ≤1.5 × ULN and major hematologic response was zero blood transfusions with hemoglobin ≥12 g/dL and LDH >1.5 × ULN within any 24-wk window (Risitano et al, Front Immunol 2019). Transfusion-dependence was ≥2 blood transfusions within any 24-wk period. Pts transferred from other centers or within 24 wks of treatment were excluded due to missing baseline data. Results: The study included 56 pts with PNH (mean age: 42.9 yrs [± 17.6]; 46.4% female) treated with eculizumab for ≥24 wks (mean follow-up: 5.24 yrs [± 3.25]) during the study period. The median duration from diagnosis to starting eculizumab was 1.57 yrs. Overall, 18 pts (32.1%) had aplastic anemia at diagnosis, 10 (17.9%) had symptoms of high disease activity, and 34 (60.7%) had a blood transfusion in the prior 12 months. The most reported disease-related symptoms at baseline were anemia (28.6%), fatigue (26.8%), thrombosis (21.4%), dyspnea (17.9%), dysphagia (10.7%), erectile dysfunction (10.0%), kidney complications (8.9%), abdominal pain (8.9%), and hemoglobinuria (7.1%). Mean hemoglobin (n=44) was 9.67 g/dL [± 2.06] and LDH in the past 12 months (n=47) was 1480 U/L [± 1010]. During the first 24-wk treatment phase, 37% (20/54) of pts had LDH >1.5 × ULN, 31% (14/45) had ARC >1.5 × ULN, and 17% (8/47) had hemoglobin ≥12 g/dL (Figure). Among pts with response data, 15% (7/47) had complete hematologic response and 2% (1/47) had major hematologic response within 24 wks. Documented BTH with symptoms occurred in 11% (6/56). Moreover, 23% (13/56) of pts were transfusion-dependent, increasing to 39% (22/56) when including pts who had ≥1 transfusion during the first 24 wks of treatment. Six pts (11%) received a higher-than-labeled dose (600 mg intravenous [IV] weekly for 4 wks, 900 mg IV 1 wk later, then 900 mg IV every 2 wks thereafter) of eculizumab. Over the long term (ie, between 25 and 246 wks), 11.1-34.7% of pts received blood transfusions and 7.0-21.7% had LDH >1.5 × ULN in any 24-wk window; whereas 36.1-72.7% had ARC >1.5 × ULN (Figure). Moreover, 65.8-77.3% of pts had hemoglobin <12 g/dL within any 24-wk period and 69.0-77.2% did not meet the criteria for major or complete hematologic response during any 24-wk period from wks 25 to 246. During the treatment phase, no meningococcal infections were reported. Conclusions: In this long-term real-world study, a considerable proportion of pts with PNH treated with eculizumab did not achieve optimal clinical outcomes with an ongoing burden of disease (ie, low hemoglobin level with high reticulocyte count due to extravascular hemolysis, BTH, etc.). Future exploration of other therapies that improve pt outcomes could help to address remaining unmet medical needs. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Alashkar: Alexion: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; BMS/Celgene: Honoraria; Bluebird Bio: Honoraria. Ofori-Asenso: F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Current Employment. Xu: F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG: Current Employment. Liu: Genesis Research: Current Employment. Katz: F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd: Current Employment. Shang: F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Roeth: Apellis Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria; Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Bioverativ, a Sanofi company: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria; Kira: Consultancy, Honoraria.
Objective: Describe the real-world clinical profile of eculizumab-treated patients by characterizing their short-and long-term clinical and laboratory outcomes.Methods: This retrospective study used preexisting medical records of eculizumabtreated patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) at the University Hospital Essen. Hematologic response, breakthrough hemolysis, transfusion dependence, and other outcomes were assessed.Results: Of 85 patients with PNH, 76 received eculizumab for ≥24 weeks (mean follow-up: 5.59 years; total: 425 person-years). At 24 weeks (n = 57 patients with data), 7% and 9% had complete and major hematologic response, respectively. Breakthrough hemolysis occurred in 8%, and 38% required a blood transfusion. Over longterm follow-up (25-264 weeks), 70%-82% of patients did not achieve complete or major hematologic response in any 24-week period. Breakthrough symptoms, breakthrough hemolysis, and transfusion dependence occurred in 63%, 43%, and 63% of patients, respectively, at any point during follow-up. The majority (79%-89%) of patients did not achieve normalized hemoglobin, with 76%-93% having elevated bilirubin or absolute reticulocyte count in any 24-week window. Mean percentage reduction in lactate dehydrogenase (baseline to end of follow-up) was 80.3% (95% CI, 64.0-96.6).Conclusions: A considerable proportion of patients with PNH receiving eculizumab did not achieve optimal clinical outcomes and had an ongoing disease burden.
Background Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a life-threatening disease of dysregulated complement activation. It is a rare disease with an estimated incidence of 1 to 1.5 cases per million people globally. Eculizumab is a humanized monoclonal anti-complement component 5 antibody that was approved for the treatment of patients with PNH in the United States and European Union in 2007, yet unmet medical needs remain. Up to half of patients continue to require blood transfusions despite treatment with eculizumab, and hemolytic activity remains detectable in many patients (Brodsky et al. Blood. 2008). Eculizumab is not available in many countries. In places where treatment is approved, there are further impediments to access, such as cost of treatment, reimbursement issues, infrastructure limitations, and patient restrictions (Risitano et al. Am J Hematol. 2018; Risitano et al. Front Immunol. 2019). Data published on real-world outcomes of eculizumab are limited. Here we describe a study that will retroactively analyze data from patients with PNH treated with eculizumab at the Essen University Hospital in Germany. Study Design and Methods This retrospective, secondary data use, cohort study will include all patients at the Essen University Hospital who were diagnosed with PNH and treated with eculizumab prior to April 2018. Clinical data from medical records were entered into an electronic case report form (eCRF). Source data verification has been performed for all clinical data. Laboratory data were extracted directly from the hospital computer system. The Essen University hospital also checked and verified missing laboratory data. Patient-level data in the eCRF and laboratory data were fully anonymized. The primary objective of the study is to understand the remaining unmet medical need by describing the eculizumab dose and frequency of dose adjustment and describing the proportions of patients who experience intravascular and extravascular hemolysis while on treatment. The secondary objectives include explorations of the association between lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and hemoglobin stabilization with clinical outcomes (eg, breakthrough hemolysis and the need for red blood cell transfusion), the association between PNH clone size and clinical outcomes and the risk of thrombosis, the changes in LDH and hemoglobin levels over time, the need for red blood cell transfusion during eculizumab treatment, and the proportion of eculizumab-treated patients with positive monospecific Coombs test results. In addition, opportunities to apply machine-learning methodologies to predict patients who may not respond to eculizumab will be explored. Many of the analyses will be descriptive. The associations between LDH and hemoglobin with clinical outcomes will be evaluated using rank correlation coefficients or logistic regression. Multivariable regression will be used to explore the prognostic value of clone size on clinical outcomes and thrombosis events. This retrospective study includes 85 patients with PNH with complete clinical and laboratory data (Table). The median age of the cohort was 38 years old, and the cohort was split evenly between men and women. Many patients received a diagnosis of PNH prior to the availability of eculizumab, as the year of diagnosis was 2010 or earlier for 53 patients (62%). The median years of follow-up from initiation of eculizumab was 4.7 years. Overall, 34% had aplastic anemia at diagnosis, and symptoms of fatigue, abdominal pain, and kidney failure were reported in 60%, 34%, and 15%, respectively. At data cutoff, 92% of patients were still alive. Summary The patient demographics in this study are comparable to other studies in PNH, suggesting a representative population. With median follow-up time of nearly 5 years, this study will allow for a long-term assessment of the patient experience with eculizumab. High-quality study data is ensured via full source data verification of clinical data and verification of missing laboratory data. These study results will help to address many research questions in PNH, identify the remaining unmet medical need, and also inform new drug development. Disclosures Versmold: F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Other: All authors received support for third party writing assistance, furnished by Scott Battle, PhD, provided by F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland.. Raiser:F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Other: All authors received support for third party writing assistance, furnished by Scott Battle, PhD, provided by F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland.. Faghmous:F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Ended employment in the past 24 months, Other: All authors received medical writing support for this abstract, furnished by Scott Battle, funded by F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland. ; Kite Pharma: Current Employment. Katz:F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Current Employment, Other: All authors received support for third party writing assistance, furnished by Scott Battle, PhD, provided by F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland.. Shang:F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Other: All authors received support for third party writing assistance, furnished by Scott Battle, PhD, provided by F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland.. Xu:F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Current Employment, Other: All authors received support for third party writing assistance, furnished by Scott Battle, PhD, provided by F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland.. Röth:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria; Biocryst: Consultancy, Honoraria; Apellis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding.
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